Wales · Linear (one way)

Beacons Way: Storey Arms to Craig-y-Nos

Day 5 of the Beacons Way: a long moorland ridge walk west from the A470 to Craig-y-nos Country Park.

Official trail pageBannau Brycheiniog National Park: Storey Arms to Craig-y-Nos (Beacons Way, day 5)

Distance 23.5 km · 14.6 miles As stated on the official page
Typical time 6 hours Official page (opens in new tab)
Ascent 610 m As stated on the official page
Grade Hard Our rule, see below
Route typeLinear (one way) Storey Arms layby to Craig-y-nos Country Park

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Near the start, along the way and at the finish

Pen y Fan, Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) — Near the start: Pen y Fan (about 3.2 km away)Photo: Dave.Dunford at English Wikipedia, Public domain

Dan yr Ogof National Showcaves, Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) — Near the finish: Dan yr Ogof National Showcaves (under 1 km away)Photo: Sloman at English Wikipedia, Public domain

Pen y Fan and Corn Du in the Bannau Brycheiniog National Park — Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) (about 9.4 km from the start)Photo: Dave.Dunford at English Wikipedia, Public domain

Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal, Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons) — Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal (about 10.2 km from the start)Photo: Nilfanion, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photos of named places from our guides closest to each point of the walk, with the straight-line distance. They show the area, not the path itself: follow the waymarks and the official page.

The route

This is day 5 of the Beacons Way, a long upland walk across the west of Bannau Brycheiniog rather than the Pen y Fan summit. The park's route page describes a ridge over Fan Dringarth and Fan Llia, old tram roads and a Roman road, with faint paths after Fan Llia. The park page gives conflicting distance and difficulty figures, so check it before you commit.

The interactive map needs JavaScript. The start and finish are listed below.

Along the way

Start: Storey Arms layby
Finish: Craig-y-nos Country Park

The line is drawn from OpenStreetMap data and simplified to 447 points. It can differ from what is on the ground: waymarks and the official page take priority.

Route and map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), saved 2026-10-25. Spotted a mistake? Fix the map.

Download GPX Official trail page

The GPX file holds the route as a track and the start, finish and waypoints, for use in a walking or hiking app. It is a planning aid, not a navigation guarantee.

Before you go

Safety and access notes come from official pages. Conditions change, so read the linked page for the day you walk.

Getting there

Nearest station or stop to the start in our dataTorpantau (station), about 7.6 km in a straight line.
Nearest to the finishYstradgynlais Interchange (bus), about 7.7 km in a straight line.
The route page says accommodation and pubs are nearby but not all are within easy walking distance, so you may need a bus or taxi. Source (opens in new tab)

Straight-line distances from our station list, not walking distances. Check timetables and the route to the start before you travel. Getting between regions

Step-free and pushchair access

The official page does not say whether this route is step-free or suitable for pushchairs, so we do not either. Check the official page (opens in new tab) or ask the site.

Safety

The route page says that if mist makes navigation hard on the Fan Dringarth and Fan Llia ridge, walkers should drop west to the Roman road and follow the minor road south. It also says the path becomes faint downhill from Fan Llia, with rushes and streams to cross. Bannau Brycheiniog National Park: Beacons Way day 5 (opens in new tab)
The park advises carrying a map and compass, spare warm layers, waterproofs, a torch and whistle; checking the Met Office forecast shortly before you set off; and telling someone your plans. On land, call 999 and ask for police and mountain rescue. Bannau Brycheiniog National Park: Be prepared (opens in new tab)

How these figures were worked out

Distance: taken from the official page (source (opens in new tab)).
Grade: our rule, because the official page gives no grade. Easy: up to 8 km and up to 150 m of ascent. Hard: over 16 km or over 600 m of ascent. Moderate: everything else.
Time: only shown when an official page states it.

Sources

Bannau Brycheiniog National Park: Storey Arms to Craig-y-Nos (Beacons Way, day 5) (opens in new tab). 23.5 km / 14.5 miles (the page's grade box says 14.5 km, a conflict), ascent 610 m, 6 hours, route features, mist advice. Header says Moderate and the grade box says Very challenging, so grade uses the published rule. Checked on 2026-10-25.
Bannau Brycheiniog National Park: Be prepared (opens in new tab). kit, forecast, tell-someone and 999 advice. Checked on 2026-10-25.
Bannau Brycheiniog National Park: Walking routes (opens in new tab). listing shows day 5 as one way, 14.5 km, 6 hours, grade 4 (this differs from the route page header, which gives 23.5 km). Checked on 2026-10-25.
OpenStreetMap relation 34591 (Beacons Way), ways chained start to end (opens in new tab). route geometry (c) OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL; measured 22.96 km. Checked on 2026-10-25.
OpenStreetMap contributors (opens in new tab) (ODbL). Route geometry. Saved 2026-10-25.

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